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| A stumping for Luke! |
I remember not sleeping at all that night, freaking out about leaving everyone and everything behind for a whole year, Jack getting annoyed at me for being on my iPad all night and then getting up bright and early at 4 am to head to Heathrow. This is all still so clear in my memory it's so weird. We got to Heathrow and sat for ages wondering where everyone else was, then I met Robbie and some other Hondurans, Mum spilt her cup of tea on me and off I went, no tears, no nothing.
The other night, I spent some time looking through photos on my laptop of the past few years in England - holidays, days at the beach, trips to the zoo and more. It was so nice to see these things and bring back great memories, and funnily enough it didn't make me miss home!
That's where that part of this blog ends, now I'm going to talk about what has become so normal to me here, that used to be so weird.
On arrival here, all I could think about was the heat! How was I ever going to survive in this heat? Now, although it is still very hot, I now feel comfortable in this climate, and feeling cold is definitely going to be strange back in England.
The food. At the start, while I loved the food (and still do) all I wanted was a nice burger or a pizza! Now, when we have dinner, all I want is a nice baleada or some machuca, or even rice and beans! Again, this food has become so normal to me that eating Western food now seems a bit odd! Another note on the food, when we tell Mary Lou (our cook) how amazing her food is, she just says 'Yes Teacher,' implying that she knows how good her food is! Everyone here is straight to the point in what they say!
The relaxed attitude. Before I came here, I would say I was slightly OCD about things like timings and when to do things. Like in the UK if a bus was late I would get rather annoyed. But here, my attitude has changed a lot. Now, if a bus is late, it's just like 'oh well, we're in the Caribbean so it doesn't really matter,' and I like that!
The way people are so direct when they speak. If someone has something to say, they will say it straight to your face. If they think your hair is ugly, they will tell you. If they don't like someone, they will tell them! In some ways, this is a good thing because people are more open and say what they think, and I'd like to think that I'd pick up slightly on this, though not too much!
Dancing! Everyone here loves to dance, but the dancing when I arrived here in Punta Gorda seemed far too mature for the kids who where doing it! Let's just say, the dancing here is more suited to slightly older people who have had a bit too much to drink. Now though, this seems so normal and dancing when I go to university next year will be very different, maybe Bath Uni will be introduced to Punta dancing!
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| Doesn't do the dancing any justice but... |
And what do I miss, you may ask?
Well, to be quite truthful, very little. Of course from time to time I miss my family and friends (yes Mum, but only sometimes...), and sitting on a sofa to watch TV. Oh yeah, and I also miss school quite a lot! It sounds weird I know, but the routine of sitting with my mates in the common room, having such a laugh in pretty much every lesson, and of course my teachers, who I'm keeping in contact with! But to be quite frank, I really don't miss anything that much (sorry Mum and Dad!)
I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing, but I'd say it's good because I haven't felt homesick or wanted to go home at all so far! Punta Gorda is my home now; I think it will be tougher leaving here than it was leaving England! Because I've become so embroiled in life here in Honduras, I feel like I don't have time to miss home, even if I did miss it! Talking to Mum and Dad, Jack and Luke, and friends on Facebook (Robbie (in French) - thanks for helping me keep this going; and Dhiren, for making me laugh every so often!) really has helped me a lot. It makes me feel that everyone is just around the corner, when really they're on the other side of the world! Phoning my family and hearing there voices has really helped as well, being able to hear the people I was closest to makes me realise that they're always there when I want a chat, so thanks guys!
And what don't I miss? What am I happy to be away from?
Well actually there are a couple of things...
RAIN! We have hardly seen rain here! It's so nice not to be worried about having to take a coat wherever we go (just wear flip flops and beach clothes instead!)
People judging you. At home, I felt from time to time that I was being judged by people. Here, though, while people say what they think, they aren't judgmental towards me. For example, I walked down the street with 2 plaits in my hair, and everyone just smiled and we joked about it. In England, if a guy did that, he would be pointed at, stared at etc. That's another reason why I love it here so much, everyone is so kind and so relaxed!
And on a final note, one of the best things that I've noticed here is that each kid at school has such a strong personality! You know, in England at school there was that group of kids who were a bit strange and didn't really have a personality at all, they just sort of sat back and floated along? Well here, no one is like that at all. Everyone has such a strong character, and going back to England to find people without that is sure going to be strange for me. I love this side to the kids, they're all so different yet so amazing at the same time, it really is different from England, but for me, most certainly in a good way.
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| I know I shouldn't have favourites but.... She's one of my favourites from the morning kids, there'd be too many to list from the afternoon lot! |
Good luck to everyone going off to Uni this weekend and over the next couple of weeks, this time next year it'll be me!
I think it's time for me to stop rambling on, maybe I'll go and take a swim in the Caribbean sea (don't get too jealous now...)
Un abrazo a todos,
Sam xx
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